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Thursday, May 23, 2013

I pride myself on being able to accommodate almost any allergy I come across in my baking or cooking. Granted, I've never been faced with the situation of someone allergic to all grains, sugars, eggs, dairy, legumes, fruit, nuts and vegetables all at once - in that case, I'm waving the white flag and serving water. But in general, I can do the "Top 8" at the drop of a hat, and can even make something for a vegan celiac individual.

Although it's not one of the "Top 8", corn is one of those foods that seems to be increasingly allergenic. It always catches me off guard though, because it's in so many things. Far from simply being a starchy side dish for a backyard BBQ or creating the toothsome qualities of cornbread, the yellow plant has been modified, milled, ground, de-hulled, gelatinized and otherwise adulterated to within an inch of it's being. It takes careful label reading (and education) to avoid it in anything pre-made, which unfortunately includes a good deal of baking ingredients.

Tired of mixing up tiny batches of acidulated baking soda whenever I had to bake for corn allergies (or people avoiding it for GMO reasons) and loath to pay through the nose for yet another specialty item, I finally just mixed up a big batch to keep in the pantry. While "regular" baking powder relies on cornstarch for bulk and anti-caking, I went the corn and gluten free route with a mix of arrowroot starch and white rice flour.

I actually like this blend better than store bought - it has a finer texture and mixes into ingredients better, without the clumping I've experienced with cornstarch formulae. If you don't have arrowroot starch (I got mine at the local Bulk Barn), try an equal portion of potato or tapioca starch instead.